I thought we were much improved again. The offensive line was actually protecting tommy and making holes for the bus, the defensive front seven was pretty awesome, and even the special teams(!) rocked.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if we had either a quarterback or a secondary, we might've won. If we had both, it woulda been a piece of cake.

To be completely honest, I blame it on the Defensive Coordinator. (We should replace _him_ with a brownie scout.) Those (very rare) plays where they went with a man defense, they did just fine. When they tried the zone, the Rams were making 20+ yard plays. Seems pretty simple to me. Unfortunately, the Steelers' defense is designed to be zone, so teams will keep picking them apart...

Gotta disagree about the Offensive Line. Did they suck? Yes. Is this the second time most of those guys have played the position they're playing? Also, yes. One hopes they're practicing their asses off this week, but I don't expect much from them until they learn to work with each other in their new positions. Also, Zeroue needs to remember that it's his job to pick up the blitz and block some of those incoming linebackers instead of heading for the sideline and waving his hand like an idiot, looking for the screen pass while Maddox is trying to pick up his spleen from where it just got knocked out.

I'm kind of wondering if Faulk was benched for an extra game more because they didn't want to be tempted to try to run rather than because he really needed another week off. Against the Steelers, you pretty much know that trying to run to set up your passing game is pointless.

Yeah, but that said, the Rams' backup still managed to rush 81 yards and 3 touchdowns... pretty damn good for "not trying to run"

Hell, I don't care how good a corner you have, Torry Holt needs double coverage. And yes, I understand that that implies a zone elsewhere on the field. Heck, maybe that's what they should have done - set one back (rotating, to keep them fresh) on Holt at all times, and then played zone.

Back in the early 90's, when I lived in Dallas, I watched a lot of Cowboys games. That strategy was used consistently by opposing teams to keep Michael Irvin from touching the ball, and it worked. Other receivers will have an easier time, but you take the big-play man out of the game.

Seriously, though, I don't think that would have worked in this case. Too many good receivers, too good an offensive line... What have other teams done against the Rams? I remember hearing that the Steelers game was one of their best - how did other teams defend against them? A better pass rush?